By Cassidy L. Bacon
Attorney at Law, Napier, Baillie,
Wilson, Bacon & Tallone, P.C.
As police officers and members in the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System (PSPRS), you have options if you are unable to perform your duties as a police officer because of illness or injury. This article will provide a brief overview of those options.
There are several types of medical/disability retirements. Each one has different requirements and benefits. If you are injured on duty, there are two main types of medical retirements for which you may qualify — an accidental disability retirement and a catastrophic disability retirement.
The most common we see is an accidental disability retirement. You may qualify for an accidental disability retirement if you have a physical or mental condition that totally and permanently prevents you from performing a reasonable range of your duties as a police officer. Calculating the amount of your accidental disability retirement benefits depends on your PSPRS membership tier but will not be less than 50% of your average monthly benefit compensation. Most, if not all, of the benefit amount is non-taxable.
Catastrophic disability retirements are reserved for those with physical injuries that totally and permanently prevent the employee from engaging in any gainful employment. Catastrophic disability benefits are calculated a bit differently. For the first five years, the employee would receive 90% of their average monthly benefit compensation tax-free. After that time, if the employee still qualifies for this type of retirement, their benefits are reduced to 62.5%, depending on years of service.
If, on the other hand, your illness or injury was incurred off duty, you may qualify for an ordinary disability retirement. This type of retirement requires either a physical condition that totally and permanently prevents you from performing a reasonable range of duties within the Department or a mental condition that totally and permanently prevents you from engaging in any gainful employment. Unlike medical retirements precipitated by an on-duty injury, ordinary disability benefits are taxable.
To obtain medical retirement benefits, you must first contact the City retirement office for an application. Once completed, you must file the application with the local board. This needs to occur no later than one year after ending your employment because of the disability. Once filed, the local board will then gather any relevant records from City Safety and schedule you for an initial appearance. At the initial appearance, your application will be reviewed. If the board determines that, on its face, your application meets the requisite standard, they will approve sending you for an independent medical examination, or IME. The IME will conduct a review of your records and an examination of you before making a determination as to whether you meet the standard for a medical retirement. The local board is bound by the findings of the IME in deciding whether to approve your application.
This article is intended to provide a brief overview of medical retirement benefits under PSPRS and should not be construed as legal advice. There are many nuances to the medical retirement statutes, so if you have questions or are considering a medical retirement, please reach out to discuss your specific situation. I can be reached at (602) 248-9107 or clbacon@napierlawfirm.com.